Newbie - help please

[Anashe]

Hello All,

Im a newbie here, and just wanted to get a bit of information on where to begin with this interesting journey. I have had a looked at the AU website with regards to which visa and where we qualify and I have also checked the skills where we possibly could fit in. My husband has been in Sales and Marketing for more than 15 years and he is currently a Call Centre Manager. I dont know if this is a strong profession to apply for a work visa though, but we saw that there are also a couple of sales positions on the Consolidated Occupations List. Where do I start, do we start with the skills assessment, just need a bit of assistance on where to begin I think i overloaded myself with too much information, and now im lost.... thanks for your help

[PTLF]

Hello Anashe,

I'm a little new here too WELCOME!

My husband and I started the process over 2 years ago so my memory is a bit rusty and the process may be slightly different now, I'm not sure. What I do remember is that the CSOL ( Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List) requires sponsorship (either from a state or employer). Getting a visa on CSOL is a little more tricky in my opinion. My husband's skills were on CSOL for Queensland only, but by the time we got documents ready and applied it was off the list! So we couldn't apply anymore, and we prayed that his skills would reappear on CSOL for any state. Luckily it did a few months later for Western Australia. Check if you have any skills on the SOL (skilled occupation list) this is usually far easier and you don't need sponsorship at all. If not that's ok! Being on CSOL is still good!

I would say start by visiting an agent and have an interview with them to determine whether you are elligible. You can then decide to use their service or to continue the rest of the journey yourself.

Jordy posted a 100 step process to immigrating to Australia which is very useful. It will give you an idea of what is involved. Here is the link:

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/9251-the-100-step-process-to-immigrating-to-australia-from-south-africa/

Good luck! Get reading (do research on this forum too!) and feel free to ask lots of questions!

Edited October 24, 2014 by PTLF

[heidim]

Hi Anashe

the best thing I think you could do is to contact a migration agent. Most of them do an initial assessment for free to see if you qualify. They won't take on your case if you don't qualify and there is no obligation to continue the migration process with them. We used an agent for the process and went through migrate2oz. They did an initial assessment for us for free to tell us which visa we qualify for. You also have to make sure that you have the right code for your occupation. The terminology here in Oz is a bit different and you may think you're applying for the right occupation when it means something totally different.

There are other agents on this forum as well that come highly recommended, so that would be my first stop. Just make sure you use a MARA registered agent and I would suggest don't go with anyone other than recommended by this forum. There are many agent scammers.

[Neels]

Good morning Anache

Welcome on board. You are in the best place to get most of the help, support and assistance you will need for your journey. I only discovered this forum after I bumped my head a couple of times..

And I agree with PTLF and heidim: the best place to start is to get your free assessment done. It's a waste of time and money if you get started in the wrong direction only to realize later there was a better option. That's what happened to us.

Enjoy the ride!

[Riamwa]

Hey Anache

I am new to the forum but I agree with PTLF and heidim and Neels get your free assessment done and go from there on.